The University of Houston-Clear Lake recognized the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients and others during the 2006 Alumni Celebration in October, held at the Hilton Houston Nassau Bay.

Darla McKitrick, assistant professor and clinical coordinator at the Dental Branch School of Dental Hygiene, was among those honored as a Distinguished Alumna.

McKitrick has a passion to make the community better. In addition to involvement with the Bay Area Alpha Xi Delta and Clear Lake Area Panhellenic Association — both social and philanthropic organizations — McKitrick has volunteered for the Assistance League of the Bay Area for 10 years. While volunteering with the league, she has offered her time and talent to Operation School Bell, which helps underprivileged children prepare for school.

When she’s not volunteering in the community, McKitrick is loyal to her responsibilities as a faculty member at the Dental Branch where she has been teaching for 20 years.

McKitrick attended school to become a dental hygienist and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Education. Maintaining a desire for knowledge, McKitrick returned to school and completed her education by attaining a Master of Science in Teaching degree from UH-Clear Lake.

“Darla has been recognized for her leadership and teaching,” said UH-Clear Lake Associate Vice President for University Advancement Dion McInnis. “Her dedication to students and the profession seems to be its own reward for her, but the real benefit is touching and changing lives.”

Just call her Superwoman. Managing a full-time job, an overtime marriage and an all-the-time motherhood is overwhelming for most.

But Tonya Alvis wouldn’t have it any other way.

Alvis, senior staff assistant for the School of Dental Hygiene has served at the UT Health Science Center at Houston for the past 11 years, joining the UT Dental Branch in 1999.  

In her current position Alvis wears many hats. Between taking care of the needs for eight dental hygiene faculty members, six dental faculty members who teach hygiene courses, 72-80 students and approximately 200 applicants each year, her days are extremely full. "She does what needs to be done to run the office and keep it organized and flowing,” said Nina Infante, School of Dental Hygiene director.  

“Interacting with the students is what I enjoy the most,” Alvis said.

“Most of the students start calling two years prior to their application process. By the time they arrive I already know most of them and the relationship continues through the time they are here.”

Alvis added that she becomes so much a part of the family that she is frequently invited to baby showers, weddings and birthday parties.

On top of her work responsibilities Alvis is active in the University Classified Staff Council and the Employee Relations Committee at the Dental Branch.

But as much as she enjoys her job, she also treasures the time she spends with her family. Alvis has four children, Samantha, 24, Jessica, 21, Joslyn, 4 and Jordan,3. She also has a grandchild, Jory Mason.
 
Together, the family enjoys going to the zoo, the park or the beach. “Having a large family is a joy,” Alvis said. “We spend as much time together as we possibly can.”

Alvis, her husband, Keith, and their children, live in Houston.

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Erin Joseph, D.D.S., has joined the faculty of the UT Dental Branch part-time. Joseph is a 1998 graduate of the Dental Branch and a 1993 graduate of Dillard University.

Joseph has owned a practice in Missouri City for five years and said she gets tremendous satisfaction from helping others. 

“What I enjoy most about being a dentist is the patient interaction. There is a lot of satisfaction that comes from helping other people,” she said. “I also live in the same community that I practice in so I see my patients at the gas station and the grocery store.

“I really enjoy what I do. Most people say they ‘work to live’ but I can honestly say that on some level ‘I live to work’ because I know that my work is helping people.”

Joseph said that teaching is a field that she has wanted to enter since she became a student at the Dental Branch. This is her opportunity to give back.

In her spare time Joseph is active in her church – Ft. Bend Baptist in Missouri City. She enjoys singing in the choir and being involved in Sunday School. She and her two children, Christopher, 10, and Taylor, 9, also enjoy fishing and rolling skating.

Joseph is located in DB 481. She can be reached at 713-500-4012.